own webmail server

[njdevils44]

Okay, I really don't know if this is feasible, but is it possible to take a computer (say something I have here at home), install a mail program on it, and use that for my website email? I think you have to change something like MX records or something like that, right? And if so, what information is needed in these MX records, and how can I find it? Oh yah, one more thing: if my IP address changes, can I easily change whatever uses that IP? Or does Host Rocket have to do that?
I hate to be a pain in the neck about all this, and I appreciate any help that can be provided. The reason I am asking all this is because I want to provide POP email accounts to the public, and I am sure HostRocket wouldn't appreciate me abusing the unlimited POP email accounts provided, even though it doesn't state it in the TOS. Thank you again in advance for any help that can be provided.

~Kyle Bisignani
http://njdevils.info

[tkieffer]

I have some time to kill so here goes. Generally speaking you have to have 3 basic things in order to set up a mail server.

1. DNS MX Record

It doesn't sound like you are terribly familiar with DNS so I will go into a little more detail here. When you purchase a domain, say njdevils.info, a number of different DNS entries are created for you. The one that you are interested in is the MX or Mail Exchange record. This portion of the njdevils.info DNS information indicates where all email intended for the njdevils.info domain should go. The IP for the MX record of a DNS entry is completely independent of the other entries. This means that you can have your mail going to one place and your website stored somewhere else.

NOTE: Changing an MX record is domain-wide. Once you change it at the top level for your domain (njdevils.info) then ALL email going will be routed to the new location.

HOW TO: Netsol.com whois indicates that your DNS services are being handled by the friendly folks over at hostrocket.com. I would recommend getting in contact with the support staff and letting them know what you wish to do.


2. Incoming Mail Server (POP3, IMAP, etc.)

Your incoming mail server will sit around and listen for incoming email sent over the internet to your domain, as indicated by your DNS MX record. There are a significant number of different mail servers with different capabilities and client compatibilities. I recommend finding your mail server software and installig it first before doing anything else.

NOTE: To test your mail server before changing the MX record just send the email to the IP address (Example: testuser@127.0.0.1).

NOTE: The supported communications protocols of an incoming mail server refer to the method with which email is transferred from the email server to the email client. This means that if you prepare a POP3 email server then your subscribers will need to use a POP3 email client in order to download their email from your server.


3. Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP)

An outgoing email server always uses SMTP on the internet. It is the protocol that email servers use to communicate with each other. Generally speaking your SMTP server will be bundled with your incoming email server, and this is the approach I recommend especially if you have not set up a mail system before.


Acronyms:

Here are the generally accepted definitions for the acronyms I used. I try my best to stick to the most accurate or historically correct definition.

DNS - Domain Name System
IMAP - Internet Message Access Protocol
POP3 - Point of Presence (version 3)
SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

[njdevils44]

Well thank you very much! I appreciate the information very much. And if you want, you can be the first to get an email address @njdevils.info once I have it set up ;)
Thanxs again!
~Kyle Bisignani